


In presence of the Black and White

by TsukikoMoon



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe with Original Characters, Angst, Character Development, Character Redemption, Damn lots of Angst, Gen, I hate bad endings so yeah, Memory Related, There is more than one set of Miraculous, it will get better
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-19
Updated: 2017-09-19
Packaged: 2018-12-30 05:50:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12102150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TsukikoMoon/pseuds/TsukikoMoon
Summary: When there is something new in Paris, it piques interest in people and most definitely Alya.Will there be any conspiracy brought with what seemingly to be innocent at first?For Ladybug and Chat Noir, it is an unidentified new figure in black and white lurking on the Parisian rooftops.For Marinette and Adrien's class, it's both that and the new Chinese student who transferred into their class.Though, both presence are unsettling because of the recent aftermath left by Lila and Volpina.Things gone wrong and it had created a wall in people's heart, suspicious of everything.Arriving at the worst moment they could, are they able to take down the wall they had just built up?And are the new presences strong enough to be able to face the world closing up against them?





	In presence of the Black and White

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! I've been wanting to write a fic about my OC and here is it, one year after I've created my OC and finally I started after making Pandabirna's backstory! My way of writing is adding things as I thought of it and let it flow while I'm writing, though I wont change anything even if I felt that the story can be changed if I had already posted the chapter up. And wow, me keep throwing new ideas in while I write really let me think of more plots than what I have when I started. I didn't want to add Lila's existence in this at first but then I went and add another whole new level of angst when I decided that I want to add about what happened after Lila. Well, hope you enjoy!
> 
> This takes place after Season 1 and my version of The Collector that fits this story.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A figure in black and white had been seen on the Parisian rooftops, and it had done nothing but to avoid cameras, never staying in one place as if afraid to be caught on sight. As unsettling as the presence of the mysterious figure who is certainly something magical, akuma attacks occur as per normal and there seem to have no relation to a certain super-villain. Frustrating as it is, their attention had been taken away from the mysterious figure when a new student had transferred into Marinette's class. Though they tried to be civil, they don't feel too welcoming to this new student because of a certain Lila Rossi.

"It's been a week, and there is still no distinct evidence about that figure in black and white!" Alya grumbled, scrolling through the Ladyblog on her phone. "Can you believe it? All people can make out of what they saw on the Parisian roofs are the color and that it is definitely a human, they can't even tell the gender because whoever that was appear only in places too high that only Ladybug and Chat Noir can reach or during sundown where it is too dark to figure out anything!" She is frustrated, not only she had never saw the black and white figure people had mentioned in the Ladyblog, there is no scoop about whatever that was at all. No matter the source, it is the same news over and over for one whole week, that a black and white figure was seen in a very brief moment and that's it. "I mean, even Ladybug and Chat Noir still had no idea about the figure and is in high alert when I asked them about it after yesterday's akuma attack!"

 

Alya's exasperation is understandable, there are no photos caught so far on the mysterious figure as it is always on the move, not giving people a chance to even snap a picture of them. At least from the appearance of the figure for a few seconds right as she and Chat Noir needed to get away to de-transform yesterday after the akuma attack, they are definitely not an akuma like she and Chat Noir had thought at first. The akuma yesterday is full of colors unlike the lack of colors people had described the figure, and was akumatized because they doesn't want the holiday to end, what a way to spend the last day of the holiday. "Don't remind me of yesterday's akuma attack, our plan to hang out on the last day before school starts had been disrupted, remember?" Marinette rolled her eyes, making an annoyed huff. Really, Hawk Moth wants her Miraculous? She will not hesitate to show him a piece of her, if that is what he wants. Her gaze then fell on her sling purse bag, Tikki was being way too calm about the mysterious figure and just told her to not worry too much whenever she had mentioned about it. Maybe the kwami knows something but is not telling her, that does reassures her a little.

 

"But at least we know one more thing about that figure right now, it is a clue right at our face! This figure, whatever it is, most probably isn't an akuma like you had thought it to be when I first told you about it! I mean, not like I really know how Hawk Moth works but he had never released two akumas at the same time! Yeah there was the case of Sabrina and Chloé being akumatized back-to-back but not two active akumas at the same time, Hawk Moth might have this limit of only be able to release one akuma at a time, you know. I bet he would have already made two akumas after losing to Ladybug and Chat Noir so many times, if he is able to." The Ladyblogger waved around as she deduced, always expressive in terms of gestures. "Right, back on track. You know what I think? I think that maybe the figure could be another superhero!"

 

It does makes sense, that the figure is another Miraculous holder, that might be the reason why Tikki is so indifferent about this. And by how the way the kwami act, the mysterious Miraculous holder at least has no ill intentions, for now. "I don't know, Alya. If that figure is another superhero, then why don't they show themselves during yesterday's akuma attack to help Ladybug and Chat Noir? It's like, standing on the sidelines and watching things unfold without doing anything. I think Ladybug and Chat Noir is right to be on high alert, we don't know which side that figure is on, and what it can do. Remember Volpina? It turns out that she is just akumatized 'Liar Rossi' when everyone thought her to be a superhero." Call her paranoid, but Marinette is not taking a risk like what had happened with Volpina, especially if this Miraculous holder is hiding in the shadows observing the akuma attacks. At least Lila's lies had been found out, and that she had already transferred school.

 

"Yeah, I'm surprised that Chloé did the right thing for once by ousting all her lies. Lila's big talk is already falling apart when she openly spoke badly about Ladybug, when she was the one who said that she is friends with Ladybug in the first place during the interview in Ladyblog. Anyways, that's cool of Chloé I guess." Nino added as he walk up to the girls by the bottom of the stairs at the entrance of the school, hands in his pockets. Chloé really did surprised everyone by finding evidence on Lila's lies to everyone with her connections, nobody is sure if she is trying to help or because Lila had ticked her off by speaking ill of her favorite super-heroine, and of course everyone suspects that it is the latter. After what happened with Lila, Chloé doesn't seem to be as annoying as before anymore, though she is still as childish as ever. "So let me guess, there is still no news on the mysterious black and white figure?“

 

Adrien's car had pulled over as Nino spoke, and he had exited the car just in time to hear his last sentence on the talk of the town. "Whoever that figure was, they sound to be quick on their feet, no one even had enough time to take a picture at all. I think that maybe the figure could be another superhero, and is just being shy. You know, like they want to train being better at their moves first before making an appearance to impress Ladybug and Chat Noir?" Adrien offered, walking up to the group of friends and receiving a pat at the back from Nino as a greeting. "Now I'm a bit curious about the figure, even our superheroes doesn't seem to know anything about it yet." He is curious, curious like a cat alright. When rumors about the figure had started, both him and Ladybug had thought that it was a similar case with Vanisher where the akuma only does small tricks thus no alert of an akuma attack was made. But then they couldn't find any clue about the figure doing any damages at all, and had been patrolling the rooftops whenever they can. But yesterday's akuma attack proved that it was not the case at all, and Plagg had let slip that it might be another Miraculous holder when he told his kwami that he saw a figure in the shadows as he was finding a place to de-transform after the akuma attack.

 

"See, Marinette? Even Adrien think that it might be another superhero, and I think it is reasonable that they want to observe before they join the team. I mean, if I suddenly had superpowers I'd like to have a little time to get used to it first before I join the fray, and practice until I'm confident I can fight while Ladybug and Chat Noir can handle the situation if that is how it works." Alya explained, grinning to her best friend as she wrap an arm around Marinette's shoulder. Unlike the maybe-superhero, Ladybug and Chat Noir had to show themselves and be thrown into battlefield as soon as they got their power, since they can't let the akuma wreck more things with no one to look over the situation. At least that's what the Ladyblogger had gathered, with how the superheroes made a mistake with the first akuma, they were still inexperienced in this at that time. "My girl here thinks that the mysterious figure is up to no good, that they are shady or something to not help Ladybug and Chat Noir in yesterday's akuma attack. Girl, you really need to stop thinking negatively and try to look at the bright side sometimes, y'know. And to answer your question, Nino, no. There is nothing new yet, nothing!"

 

With her shoulder hunched, Marinette stiffen as she felt eyes on her, especially Adrien's. "I-I'm just being caution- I mean cautious, about anything magical. T-this new entitle- uh, entity! This new entity of m-magic, w-we don't know anything it yet, it's b-best to avoid it whatever it is. I-it's better safe than sorry, r-right?" She blabbered, her eyes darting everywhere avoiding Adrien's gaze. Up until now, the girl with pigtails still could not form coherent sentences in front of her crush, it got worse after the case of Volpina. Marinette couldn't face the blonde at all, being reminded of the guilt for taking his book of Miraculous whenever she looked at him, even if he doesn't know about it. He was looking for the book after what happened with Volpina, but for some reason he stopped looking for it when she learned that Chat Noir had been summoned to study about the book too. She could feel Chat Noir looking at her with questioning gaze when he asked about the origin of the book, and she had admitted to take it after seeing Lila stealing the book from Adrien and throwing it into the trash, and had been honest about her guilt for taking Adrien's book without permission. Right, the guardian. She could ask the guardian of the Miraculous about the black and white figure, he might know something about it, she will drop by again tomorrow if there is still no news on the figure today. From what she learned about the seven Miraculouses, there is no Miraculous that is black and white, maybe there is another set of them in another part of the world.

 

"Yeah, we literally know nothing about this mystery dude here. Maybe they just want to stay the mysterious talk of the town, and are right around the corner secretly laughing at all of us for trying to figure them out, it could be anyone. To be able to stay out of radar like that, this must be a cunning one, just like Hawk Moth. With someone like that, I guess we can only get any information out of them only when they decided to show themselves, must be frustrating for you Alya." Nino shrugged, his eyes then followed the back of a very Chinese looking girl he had never seen before whom had just slid past the group in silence as he was speaking, wearing only black and white like the topic of the town. The way her back is straight and how she walked in even steps looked like flowing water and had a certain grace in them, seeming humble but practiced with confidence in her movements as if she had walked this path on a daily basis. Watching a new face now and talking about cunning people like Lila suddenly reminds Nino of something. "Speaking of, I heard that we will be having a new transfer student today, I hope they are not another Lila."

 

Adrien's eyes had been trailing the Chinese girl as well, with his eyes that are always searching for Ladybug. No, that girl is definitely not Ladybug. The eyes under her glasses are grey like the storm clouds and not blue as the heavens, the twin braids are too long and they are shiny black instead of short twin tails and black with a shade of blue like Ladybug's. "I remember they said that the transfer student came from China, right? Maybe that girl who had just walked up the stairs there is the one, I don't think I've ever seen her around before and she looked pretty much Chinese to me. Well, if anything, she looks more like the type who studies a lot like Max so I doubt she'll try anything funny like Lila." He pointed at the unfamiliar girl who is now looking around with a neutral expression, somehow there is this aura of serenity emitting around her. He mirrored Nino's opinion in his thoughts, hoping that the new girl is nothing like Lila. Even saying Lila's name left a bad taste in his mouth now, he had tried to give her another chance after Volpina but it turned out that not only she had lied to him, she had lied to everyone too and throwing away something she stole from him. Maybe he is a little biased, but Ladybug was right for not liking that liar, maybe it is in Ladybug's instinct to tell if something is not worth trusting. And because of what happened with akumatized Lila, Ladybug is now being extremely cautious about the new figure who had just appeared recently. At least now he knows the Miraculous book is in safe hands after being summoned by the guardian who had gave him and Ladybug their miraculous, but he still wonders why his father had a book about these magical stones.

 

"That new student is absolutely suspicious, wearing black and white at a time a mysterious black and white figure lurking around Paris. Her just reaching from China and transferring to this school at this time is questionable too, maybe she has something to do with the mysterious figure, don'tcha say?" Narrowing her eyes, Alya starts analyzing the girl in question. Her hand is now dropped from her best friend's shoulder, and is placed on her hip instead. Does that girl not know about the talk of the town because she is new, and that it is a mere coincidence that she is wearing black and white too? No, that's certainly not it, there is no curiosity in her eyes when she heard Nino talking about the mystery figure, she must've at least heard about it. Maybe she deliberately wore like that to gain attention from people, because she knows that people are finding the figure in black and white. "And look how relaxed she acted despite the first day of school, she is not excited or anything, like she had been doing this every day."

 

Mentally grimacing, Marinette eyed Adrien's frown as he was talking about Lila. Sure, she had explained to him as Ladybug about the book and he was being understanding as if he had already know about it, she suspects that Chat Noir had already met up with Adrien and had done the explanation for her. Despite that, there is still guilt in her for taking something of his without permission. "Hmph, she better not be another Lila, or I will make sure that she is expelled from this school like I did with that fox." Chloé commented as she strutted by with her head held high and arms crossed, catching the attention of the group of four focusing on the new girl. She went straight into the school only after sparing a glance to the four of them, Sabrina following close behind. Unlike Chloé's authoritative demeanor, Sabrina only stared down on her legs seeming like a mouse.

 

"Well, I guess we'll know about that once we are introduced to her and see how she is in class." Marinette visibly sighed at Chloé's comment about the new girl, she is not in the place to argue with that blonde this time as Chloé was the one who took action on Lila's lies. Even though the way she did so is not what the half Chinese would agree on, she is still glad that the liar had been taken care of and is in no position to complain. Maybe Chloé is not all that bad after all, she just needs a push in the right direction. She regretted that she had done nothing much to reveal the lies, and only subtly told everyone to be not too trusting for that fox because she doesn't want Lila and Adrien to find out that she is Ladybug by saying something she is not supposed to know. Adrien had supported her in convincing people to not trust Lila too much as well, and only start to full on ousting the lies together with Chloé after Lila had let slip that she hates Ladybug right after he stopped finding his book. Maybe that was when Chat Noir had told him about the book, on the same day she told Chat Noir about it. "So... uh, I will just head in first, see you in class?" Marinette smiled awkwardly pointing into the school, before hurrying up the stairs in headed indoors.

 

Three pair of eyes followed the girl scrambling into the building, before two of them landed on the blonde of the group. "Dude, did something happen between you and Marinette? It's like she's avoiding you since the day Lila transferred here, y'know." Nino commented, adjusting his ever-present red cap. "I know how she acts in front of you all the time but really, the only thing she does since Lila appeared is avoiding you even from far away like she couldn't face you. Though she had been avoiding you less now after Lila had left, but man, she still couldn't stay in front of you for long. What's wrong, did something happen between both of you and Lila?“

 

"Or is it you who did something to my girl, Adrien? She wouldn't say anything and insisted there is nothing wrong, that I shouldn't talk with you about this, but it's not like her to hide anything from me." At least, anything about you, Alya mentally added as she narrowed her eyes on the model. She was too blind to be swayed by Lila's lies at that time the liar had just transferred, to care about what happened to Marinette then. The only thing she remember is that she had told Marinette that Lila was with Adrien, then bam, suddenly her best friend started avoiding the blonde the next time she sees her. Alya knows how shy Marinette can get from her crush on Adrien, but this is straight up totally avoiding him like she is embarrassed and shamed! Something must've happened then and she was too busy blinded by lies to see Marinette's crisis, and she couldn't help but feel that she is a failure as a friend, maybe that was why Marinette wouldn't tell her anything. "I'm really worried about her, she's my best friend."

 

Adrien just blinked, Marinette was avoiding him since Lila arrived? He did felt that the girl had been quite distant since Lila arrived, but thought it only to be him thinking too much. "Yeah, she's been distant to me ever since the day Lila arrived but I have totally no idea why. I didn't even talked to her outside of class, or see her talking with Lila either that day, so my guess are as good as yours." If there is someone that is involved with him and Lila that day, it is only Ladybug but he's not going to say anything about it. "Do you think Lila told her lies about me behind my back? But I don't think so, she was one of the first people who doesn't believe in Lila, right?" And he thought he is finally better friends with Marinette, but now she is keeping a distance with him because of Lila, again. Scary how the action of one person can influence so many, maybe Chloé had learned about her mistakes from this, that is why she started to cause less trouble. Adrien sighed shaking his head, he hoped whatever misunderstanding between Marinette and him can be solved.

 

"If she doesn't want to tell, let's not push her. But for sure, it has something to do with Lila." Shrugging his shoulders, Nino lead the group into the school. He turned upon hearing a long sigh, only to see Alya following behind him and Adrien with her shoulders slumped. "Hey, don't worry about it. Maybe she will tell you what happened when the time comes, you just need to be patience. It's not your fault that you trusted Lila's lies, almost the whole school believed in her, what can I say, she is a really good liar." He paused in his tracks until Alya reached his side, then put a hand on her shoulder to reassure her, giving her his best encouraging look. "Come on, class is going to start soon, we have another new student to meet too. Also, you need to go and be there for Marinette no matter what as her best friend, right?"

 

Nodding, Alya followed the two guys, noticing something different as soon as they stepped into the class. For some reason, Ivan is sitting beside Nathanaël on the back instead of his normal seat behind her and Marinette. She slid into her seat looking in between the empty seat right behind her and her best friend, before turning to her seat mate. "Hey Mari, why is Ivan sitting on the back with Nathanaël? Did I miss something?" She asked, intrigued by the sudden change of seat for the gentle giant right behind them. If this is Ivan changing his seat, he would want to be nearer to Mylène instead of being further away from her like now, so why did he change his seat to the back?

 

"Oh, it's just that Nathanaël doesn't want to sit beside a new student anymore especially a girl, you know after the thing with Lila. That is why Ivan is helping him by taking the seat beside him, so that the new student will have no choice but to sit behind us. Poor Nathanaël, having a trauma of sharing a seat with a new student now because of Lila. That liar really got on everyone's nerves, despite the short time she had been here." Marinette explained, eyeing each and every one of their classmates. There is this tension in the classroom, as if everyone is restless about something. Nathanaël lowering his head, Ivan making small talk to him, Rose and Juleka whispering to each other while their eyes keep glancing at the door, Mylène fidgeting her fingers, Alix tapping a pencil on the table while resting her head on one hand, Max making some serious analysis to Kim while both their eyes kept flickering to the door as well, Sabrina's eyes darting around everywhere with her head down and her hands on her lap while Chloé with her head held high crossing both hands and legs while staring daggers at the classroom door. "I felt sorry for the new student, to be transferring in at a wrong time like that. Can't help it I guess, with how anxious we are right now."

 

The bell indicating the start of school rang just then, followed by the noise of students getting into their seats, and two sets of footsteps could be heard from outside the classroom. One clearly the clacking sound of Madame Bustier's high heels, while one is a softer version of what sounds like someone walking in a pair tapping shoe. All eyes are locked on the classroom door, anticipating the arrival of their teacher and the new classmate. About what feels like an eternity of unsettling silence later, the orange hair of the teacher the class had expected came into view walking towards the front of her table, with the new student close behind her tracks. Both of them turned towards the front almost at the same time glancing at the class, a slight smile on both of them. If both of them notice the suspense and Madame Bustier notice the change in seat of one of her students, they did not make a comment about it. "Welcome back class, it's great to see all of you doing fine during the holiday. As you can see, we have a new transfer student in our class starting this semester." The woman turned to the calm Chinese girl beside her, with her hand gesturing towards the class. "This will be your class starting today, please do introduce yourself to your new classmates." 

 

Nodding to Madame Bustier, the girl held her hands together in front of her abdomen, before facing the class and bowed slightly as if she is used to this type of greeting. " ** _Bonjour_** , it is my pleasure to meet all of you." A smooth but clear voice escaped the new student's mouth in a slight Chinese accented standard French, it sounded polite and solid. "My name is **白美萱** (Bái Měi Xuān), Michelle is just fine, I hope we will get along well for as long as my studies last here." Michelle finished her simple introduction with a smile that sent a calming sensation to everyone, her presence looked almost the living embodiment of tranquil. Any unpleasant feels in the class is suddenly washed away by that radiating smile of hers, replacing the expression on everyone's face with an echoed smile of relief.

 

"Thank you for your introduction, you can take a seat behind Marinette there in the third row." Madame Bustier pointed at the empty table Ivan had left behind, then turned to stand behind the teacher's table after watching Michelle settling down on her seat with a smile to the people around her. Clapping her hands twice from the front, she drew everyone's attention from the new student with a wider smile, and started her first lesson after the holidays. "Okay class, you have plenty of time to talk with Michelle later. Now, I know some of you are still on holiday mood but time to wake up, it's class time." 

 

* * *

 

Michelle proved to be quite intelligent in the class, the only flaw is that she had a hard time reading some French word and end up sounding a bit like Chinese, but overall she is quite good in her studies especially English lessons. She made fast acquaintances with everyone in the class who approached her, and by the time lunch time reached, she was surrounded by some of the classmates. "Hey new girl, I'm Alya, nice to meet you. This is my best friend Marinette, she's our trustworthy class representative, you can ask her anything." The Ladyblogger turned back in her seat, wrapping an arm around Marinette offering her free hand which the new girl shook. "So how do you like Paris so far? There are a lot of sightseeing hotspots here, don't you think?"

 

"It's great to meet both of you too, Alya, Marinette. I think Paris is beautiful especially the sunsets, I guess it isn't called the city of love for nothing. The buildings and monuments here are really different from in China, I hope I could visit all the places but I've been too busy settling down these few days after I arrived." Michelle nodded at both the girls in recognition, before looking out the window with a fond smile as she spoke about the city. "Oh, you're the one who runs the Ladyblog if I'm not mistaken, right?" The Chinese girl turned to Alya, her smile widened when the Ladyblogger nodded. "I see, it's such a coincidence that I'm in the same class with the owner of a blog I follow."

 

Exchanging a glance with Marinette, Alya's eyebrows raised in intrigue by the new girl's recognition before locking her sight with Michelle once again. "Well, there are some places you must visit while you are here in Paris, we can meet up and I will give you a tour if you want, I can show you some places only locals know to go." She offered, which the girl accepted gratefully. Alya then narrowed her eyes on Michelle, switching to reporter mode. "But then, if you follow the Ladyblog, you must know about the akuma attacks in Paris. Don't you and your family worry about the magical stuff happening, when your family moved here?" 

 

"Oh, yeah the demon attacks- I mean akuma attacks. Akuma means demon in Japanese, by the way. I do know about the akuma attacks happening here in Paris, but I had already planned coming here before all that happened, it's a promise I made with someone. And my family are in China, they wouldn't put themselves in danger and they opposed me coming but I came stubbornly anyways, so I live alone right now." Michelle explained nonchalantly with a shrug, despite what she said sounds like her running away from home to another country. "The normal reason I moved here is because of the promise I made, It's been my dream to come to Paris for many years. And the other reason is, well, that there are these magical attacks in this city." A wide grin appeared on Alya's face like she had hit the jack-pot when she hears that, waiting expectantly for Michelle to continue. "Magic and sorcery had been deemed fantasy before all this, but now there is this definite prove right in front of our eyes and of course I would like to try out life in the presence of magic while I can. It's now or never, we never know when will magic appear to us again after all of this, so it's a once in a lifetime experience and I don't want to miss this." The Chinese girl's reasoning had earned stares and gapes from the classmates hearing in, like she had grown a second head.

 

A hysterical laughter broke the silence in the class, followed by thumps of someone hitting the table, catching everyone's attention. "Girl, you are cra-zy! I would never thought someone like you would do something so reckless like this, you looked like the type to stay out of trouble!" Holding her stomach with both her hands, Alya laughed out loud with tears in the corner of her eyes. "This is the most hilarious thing I've ever heard of, you basically ran away from the safe haven of home into a magical battlefield! Oh wow, that is one hell of a contemplation you have. You must have thought long and hard, it is so reasonable and understandable yet it is also not at the same time. I like you already, I had a feeling that we will get along well, Michelle."

 

"Well, what can I say, don't judge a book by it's cover I guess. I won't let anything stop me once I've made a decision, I may not look like it, but I'm stubborn like that." The Chinese girl said, the corner of her mouth raising in amusement from Alya's reaction. "But if there's someone here that would walk right into a magical battlefield, I say that's you Alya, you don't see me in yesterday's akuma attack didn't you? I may had chose to stay in a city where crazy magical things are happening, but I know to stay out of danger. Getting the scoop of the superheroes is fine, but it's not worth throwing yourself in danger for, you know." She commented, before collecting her belongings and standing up. "That said, do you want to have lunch together? I plan to go to that bakery across the school, you need to try something from the bakeries when you're in Paris, right? Meet me in the bakery then? If you have plans, that's fine."

 

"Oh, we actually planned to have our lunch there too, we'll meet you at the bakery, Michelle." Marinette eyed at her blinking best friend at Michelle's comment as the new girl nodded politely and walked off, she then put a hand on Alya's shoulder. "Michelle is right, you know. You put yourself in danger far too many times, you should stay further away from the crossfire even if you want to film. She is quite straightforward with her words, kind of reminds me of you. Though, unlike the friendly type like you, she's a bit aloof I guess." Shaking a head at Alya's shrug, she stood up. "Come on, let's go to lunch, I'm hungry." 

 

Upon entering the locker area, the girls spotted one Adrien Agreste and his best friend approaching the Chinese girl as she closed what seemed to be her locker. “ **妳好** (Nǐ Hǎo/Hello), Michelle. How are things going for your first day of school so far, doing fine?" The teen model greeted, a slight smile plastered on his face. "I'm Adrien, and this is my buddy Nino, we are in your class." He gestured to Nino, before facing the new girl who had just nodded and waved to both of them politely. " **欢迎妳来到巴黎** (Huān yíng nǐ lái dào bā lí/Welcome to Paris), **妳的法语说的很好** (nǐ de fǎ yǚ shuō de hén hǎo/Your French is pretty good)." He finished in Chinese, earning blinks from Michelle.

 

"Wow, you can speak Chinese. Though, your pronunciation still needs a little work, but overall it is quite fine. Oh, and I guess I'm doing okay in my first day, thank you for asking." The new girl smiled, raising her eyebrows. "Well, I've been taking some extra French lessons since a few years ago, just to be fluent in it when I do come to Paris. I was kind of struggling with it at first, still a bit all over the place here and there now, but hard work does pay. Like I said in class, I've been planning to come to Paris for years, and I'm keeping a promise I made with someone." Her smile seemed bittersweet and gentle at the mention of that. "Though, for some reason I felt like I saw you before." With a hand grabbing an elbow and another below the chin, Michelle narrowed her eyes at Adrien before her eyebrows shot up in realization. "Ah, you're the one with the poster all over Paris, aren't you?"

 

Nodding with satisfaction, Nino lightly punched Adrien on his arm. "Yup, my best bro here is the famous teen model Adrien Agreste and a lady killer, he's a sweet guy through and through, I'm glad to be called his best friend." He teased, earning an eye roll from Adrien. "Beware though, he has too many fan girls that are crazy over him. From what I can tell, his popularity is something tiring for him." Nino fake whispered, which caused Michelle to smile in amusement.

 

"You came all the way to Paris for a promise you made with someone? What kind promise? This someone must have a special place in your heart if you'd do this for them, right?" Rose chimed in suddenly, as she sighed dreamily. By her side is her best friend Juleka, both of them had already spoke to Michelle in class. "Oh, oh, is it someone you're love with?" The tiny blonde brightened up, curiosity and hope in her eyes. Some of the students that was listening in, which includes Marinette, Alya, Mylène and Ivan walked up to them, surrounding the Chinese girl once more in a clatter.

 

A small giggle escaped Michelle's mouth, as she took out her phone and unlocking it, turning everyone's attention to her phone. "Yeah, he holds the most special place in my heart, no one can ever replace him. He is my boyfriend, and definitely someone I'm in love with." Opening the gallery in her phone, she tapped on an album with the title [ **M** ❤ **Z** ] and showed a series of pictures to her classmates. Most of the pictures are of intimate interaction like holding hands, hugging and kissing between Michelle and a guy with black hair and icy blue eyes that seemed similar but a shade lighter than Marinette's eyes. Some of the pictures are candid shots taken by the guy, either funny pictures of Michelle with a cheeky smirk on his face, or pictures of him smiling lovingly while Michelle stood looking at the distance in the background. "You know, looking at your eyes kind of reminds me of Zayne." The Chinese turned to Marinette, a fond smile on her face.

 

"Oh you both make a lovely couple! I can see that both of you are so much in love with each other! How did you know him, and how did the both of you end up together, did he asked you out, or did you confess to him, can you tell us?" Mylène practically jumped, all of the pictures are so real and seemed to be very precious moments, and they seemed to be having fun and happy just by being with each other in the pictures, she can feel that the love is in the air. Juleka looked at the pictures, and agreed with Mylène. "Yeah, these looks so sweet." The tall girl added.

 

"Well, to be honest, he did not ask me out to be his girlfriend, and I never confessed to him. We had been together with each other since forever, our parents were friends so we had known each other since we are babies and kind of just followed their footsteps and became friends as well. Then, unconsciously, we've been doing everything together, we can't be separated from each other and we kind of fell for each other during that and just knew each other's feelings without any of us saying anything." Michelle started, a faint blush on her cheeks. Her eyes settled on the pictures on the phone longingly, her fingers flicking through the pictures, voice tender and full of love as she spoke of the story of her and Zayne. "Like, we can tell just by exchanging eye contact and didn't need to voice out about our feelings, there is no words needed. Then, well... we just kind of accepted the fact that we are together after our first kiss. We've made a promise that we will come to Paris together, and go to every of the monuments, taking pictures with all of them. So I'm right here, fulfilling my part of the promise." The way she said it caused some of the girls squealed and cooed at how sweet and romantic that sounds, especially Rose and Mylène.

 

But unlike the girls, Ivan frowned a little. "You've made a promise to come together, but he's not here. He's not fulfilling his part of promise, isn't he?" The cheery atmosphere become solemn with a few of them realizing the same thing, that Zayne should be here with Michelle instead of leaving her to come to Paris alone. The others widened their eyes when they were made aware of the fact that Ivan had pointed out, and started eyeing each other uncomfortably.

 

"Oh, I'm sure that he definitely would run to me in a heartbeat if he could, no matter how far away I am. He's not the kind to break a promise, he never did." Michelle just chuckled as she kept her phone, seemingly unaffected by the sudden change in the air. "He's quite territorial you can say, and he likes to declare that I'm his and his alone, so he wouldn't just let me go anywhere alone if he can help it." She smirked and winked in a teasing tone, despite how everyone had picked up that something must've happened to Zayne and he could not fulfill his part of the promise. "So don't get too close to me boys, if he even hear that someone is interested in me romantically or tried anything funny, he'll hunt them down and scare the hell out of them until they give up. He's overprotective like that, but that's just so him."

 

Clear clanking of footsteps can be heard approaching, only to reveal to be Chloé strutting towards them when all of them looked up. "I must say, you better not be telling a big fat lie, you lowlife. Who in the right mind would willingly walk right into Paris knowing full well that there are attacks happening right here, with your stupid philosophy of being in the same space with magical things and running away from home to another country like this? Hmph, only idiot would trust that you ran away from home when you clearly has financial support on school and flight." She stepped nearer, glaring daggers into Michelle's unwavering eyes, which made a few of the students stepping away in instinct. "Do you think you can win people's heart by making up a delusion of a love story, and then making people feel pity for you with a promise that most probably does not exist? Well, maybe that person is really your boyfriend and you did make that promise, but I'm positive that the guy had left you! And now you're here in Paris brokenhearted, pathetically crying over spilled milk while taking advantage of the people pitying you to make friends. Serves you right that your family and that guy had left you alone you attention whore!"

 

"First, if I'm a lowlife, you're a lowlife too. We are the same being, we are all human. So, if you're saying that I'm a lowlife, you are addressing the whole of human being to be the same. Second, not everything is black and white, I can have my own opinion and my own philosophy, I'm doing everything I can so that I will not regret later in my life. Third, I only said that I stubbornly came without my parents, I didn't say anything about running away from home. Next, what do you even know about me to assume anything? At least do a background check before you try to act like you know me, what do you want to achieve with this anyway? Last but not least, thank you for saying those to my face, you're as much as a spitfire as me to be able to insult people right into their face, like me when I want to, I respect people who does that compared to those who stabs people in the back." With one hand on her hip and a raging storm cloud in her eyes, Michelle looked right back at Chloé's, at the same time lifting every finger each time she states a fact. Even though the girl is short, and is around the height of Marinette, she stood tall and proud. "And if I'm not wrong, you're the girl in the front row scowling at me the first time I see you as I walk into the class like you want to murder me the whole time. Finally, let me ask something, why is my presence so bad to all of you, that the whole class are so tense the moment I walked in? I definitely does not feel welcomed at all that very moment, and I can still feel that all of you has this invisible wall up I couldn't see. It's like you all are fishing out information of me, yet the only information I am able to get is what I had observed." Narrowing her eyes, she glanced at each and every one surrounding her, stopping at least a second when she reach each face, even if it is not everyone in the class here. Unlike the calm demeanor she had the whole time, her brows creased in a frown. With the catalyst being Chloé, the dam is broken and she had lost her patience.

 

Silence filled the room, as the present classmates looked at each other for a whole minute. Some in a loss of what to say, some are still processing what had just happened in their brain. Biting her bottom lip, Marinette's eyes flicked up at Michelle whom now had her eyes closed, planning to say something only to falter as a sigh escaped from the mouth of the Chinese girl, before Michelle turned and walked away. "If no one is going to say anything, then I'm sorry for asking. Ignore my question all you want, keep your eyes away from the elephant in the room all you want. Please, just act as if I said nothing. Now I don't want to waste any more of your precious lunch time, we humans easily gets frustrated when our stomach is empty, **_non_**? So let's get going and head back to lunch, shall we?" Michelle said with a dismissal wave, acting indifferent, a slight but not easily distinguishable tremble her voice. No one saw how she swallowed as she exited the room, the two kwamis hidden from plain sight narrowing their eyes at her, and a panda kwami in her waist pouch looking up to her in concern.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ouch, my heart as I wrote this.
> 
> ~Updated 20/9/17, 3.36PM, GMT +8  
> Corrected some grammar and missing words, added more details to make the story look smoother.  
> Italic words are when I want to write French words, but the language they are talking in are originally in French.


End file.
